1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of waste disposal and specifically relates to a device for facilitating the disposal of discarded pressurized canisters that typically contain hazardous liquid wastes.
2. The Prior Art
Some years ago it was customary to dispose of discarded partly-full pressurized cans by simply treating them as solid non-hazardous waste materials and burying them.
Over the intervening years it has become recognized that when these pressurized cans deteriorate they release their hazardous liquids into the ground, thereby contaminating the ground water and creating potential health hazards.
Still more recently, regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency and of corresponding state agencies require that partially filled pressurized cans must be disposed of in the manner required for liquid hazardous wastes; i.e., by burning or by being stored in specially constructed containers. The regulations are emphatic that liquid hazard waste can no longer be buried.
Unfortunately, the burning or long-term storage required for liquid wastes is much more expensive than the burial required for solid hazardous waste. The present inventor recognized that if the pressurized cans could be emptied of their liquid hazardous wastes, the empty cans could be disposed of in the manner required for solid hazardous waste, at a considerable cost saving.